Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, with too few transactions to trend, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
FOB live prices last week were $178-$179/cwt. in the Texas Panhandle, $179 in Kansas, $185 in Nebraska and $182-$187 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were $292 in Nebraska and $292-$295 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.68 lower Tuesday afternoon at $314.36/cwt. Select was $2.41 lower at $289.68/cwt.
Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed Tuesday with an apparent consolidation breather.
Feeder Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed. from unchanged to an average of 26¢ lower in two contracts to an average of 17¢ higher.
Live Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed, from an average of 11¢ lower in three contracts to an average of 15¢ higher.
Nearby Corn and Soybean futures gave up the ghost late in the session, presumably fueled in part by more positive weekly crop ratings than expected.
Corn futures closed 9¢ lower through Jly ‘24 and then mostly 5¢ lower.
KC HRW Wheat closed 14¢ to 23¢ lower through Jly ‘24 and then mostly 7¢ to 10¢ lower.
Soybean futures closed 8¢ to 13¢ lower through May ‘24 and then mostly fractionally higher to 2¢ higher.
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Renewed optimism for tech stocks fueled major U.S. financial indices higher again on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 292 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 64 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 238 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed 83¢ to $1.06 higher through the front six contracts.
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Between seasonal demand and reduced production, beef packers successfully pushed wholesale beef prices higher the past nine days to levels last seen soon after Independence Day. The price road will likely get tougher from here.
“The last summer grilling holiday of the year is just around the corner and the increasing wholesale beef price the past few weeks is likely due to spot purchases to fill final meat counter needs for the Labor Day holiday weekend,” says Andrew P. Griffith, agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee, in his weekly market comments.
Griffith explains some of the recent purchases also may be for restocking meat counters following the holiday. After that, he says there is little to support beef prices until consumer holiday demand at the end of the year.
That’s not saying wholesale beef prices are expected to plunge lower or that they won’t stage a rally along the way, but Griffith says the next significant support will likely come heading into December.
“Turkey will dominate the Thanksgiving holiday, and to a lesser degree ham, but ham and beef tend to find more support during Christmas,” Griffith explains. “Thus, beef supply in the last quarter of the year will be important for December prices.”